D.C.-area Catholics expressed frustration Sunday over the resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, who resigned Friday amid criticism of his handling of sexual assault allegations against priests when he was bishop of Pittsburgh.
“I hope he does spend all his spare time regretting what has happened. God will forgive him for whatever happened,” Francis Somanji, 61, of Anacostia, said of after morning Mass at St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill. He said the resignation “helps the Church move forward” but voiced regret that the archbishop’s departure is necessary.
“People were very fond of him,” Robert, 54, of Capitol Hill, said after Mass at St. Peter’s. “I’ve never heard a bad comment about him, ever.”
Another parishioner, Jim, 68, said he was “frustrated” with the negative spotlight on the church because archbishops are “more administrative roles” that don’t reflect local parishes. “Most people don’t go to the bishop to pray,” he said.
Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Wuerl’s resignation Friday, but asked the archbishop to stay on temporarily until a replacement is found. It was the second resignation of a Washington cardinal the pope has accepted this year: Retired Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, 88, resigned his position of cardinal in July amid allegations of sexual misconduct over several decades of his ministry.
“Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has accepted the resignation first offered on November 12, 2015, when I reached my 75th birthday,” Cardinal Wuerl said in a written statement.
“The Holy Father’s decision to provide new leadership to the Archdiocese can allow all of the faithful, clergy, religious and lay, to focus on healing and the future. It permits this local Church to move forward,” the archbishop said. “Once again for any past errors in judgment I apologize and ask for pardon.”
In a letter to Cardinal Wuerl, Francis suggested he had unfairly become a scapegoat and victim of the mounting outrage over the abuse scandal.
“You have sufficient elements to justify your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes,” Francis wrote. “However, your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense. Of this I am proud and thank you.”
The Washington archbishop remains a member of the College of Cardinals, where he is eligible to help choose the next pope.
Cardinal Wuerl, 77, was named prominently in the 11-page denunciation of an alleged Archbishop McCarrick cover-up that was written by the Vatican’s former ambassador to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. He accused a long line of U.S. and Vatican churchmen of ignoring Archbishop McCarrick’s penchant for sleeping with seminarians.
In August, a Pennsylvania grand jury released a 900-page report that identified more than 300 priests who had been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children in the state over the past 70 years. The report said that church leaders — such as Cardinal Wuerl, who was bishop of Pittsburgh for 18 years — allowed pedophile priests to prey on young parishioners by covering up and downplaying the allegations, transferring the priests, and paying off victims and their families.
When the grand jury report was first released, the archbishop defended his role in the church at the time.
“While I understand this report may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse,” Cardinal Wuerl said in a statement. “I sincerely hope that a just assessment of my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report.”
Father Gary Studniewski, pastor of St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill, did not address the controversy during Sunday’s Mass, but he did distribute copies Cardinal Wuerl’s resignation letter. Calling it “beautiful,” Father Studniewski said it encompassed “our pain, our sadness, our confusion from what has been revealed in the past months.”
“I get frustrated when people say, ’It must be a really hard time to be a Catholic,’ to me,” said Malorie, 26, a St. Peter’s parishioner who declined to provide her last name. “People make mistakes.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Julia Airey can be reached at jairey@washingtontimes.com.
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